Refrigerator



May 15,1934. w, MAUTHE; 1,958,832

REFRIGERATOR Filed Dec. 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Z0. mauzhe awv mtoz- May 15, 1934. w. MAUTHE v REFRIGERATOR 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 18, 1933 wiweoo Widow said openings, a drainfrom the upper side of said partition, a forwardly inclined ice cakesupporting plate mounted in said ice chamber over said partition, saidplate having relatively'deep front-torear corrugations providing oneupwardly open set and one downwardly open set of channels, the.

which the cold air escapesto the cold air-conducting opening of saidpartition.

6. A refrigerator comprising a casing, a substantially horizontalpartition dividing said casing into an upper ice chamber and a lowerfood chamber, the edges of said partition being to the casing, saidpartition having an upwardly directed front portion in spaced relationwith the casing front wall, said upwardly directed portion havingconducting openings for ascending warm air, the rear portion of saidpartition being provided with a conducting opening for descending coldair, means for preventing ice drippings from passing through any of saidopenings; a drain from the upper side of said partition, a forwardlyinclined ice cake supporting plate mounted in said ice chamber, saidplate having relatively deep front-to-rear corrugations providing oneupwardly open set and one downwardly open set of channels, the frontportions of the downwardly open channels being adapted to receive. andfor:-

wardly conduct the warm air ascending from said warm air conductingopenings of said partition and having open front ends for dischargingthis air in front of the ice cake, all of the upwardly open channels notcovered by the ice cake'being adapted to receive and rearwardly'conductcold air descending at the sides-of the ice cake, the rear portions ofsaid upwardly open channels having escape openings for thecold airdescending to said cold air-conducting opening of said partition. v I IWILLIAM MAUTHE.

Patented May 15, 1934 v REFRIGERATOR William Mauthe, Fond du Lac, Wis.,assignor to Sanitary Refrigerator Company, Fond du Lac, Wis., acorporation of Wisconsin Application December 18, 1933, Serial No.702,988 .6 Claims. (01. 62-46) The invention relates to a refrigeratorusing ice as a cooling medium, and it aims to provide a. new andimproved structure in which air is so circulated that it ascends in thefront of the food chamber, enters the ice chamber, flows upwardly infront of the ice cake, then flows over the top of the ice and down thesides of the same, descends into the food chamber and finally flowsdownwardly in the latter to start another cycle of circulation. In socirculating not only is the air thoroughly chilled to produce effectiverefrigeration, but it is virtually washed by contact with themelting'ice and is thus freed from impurities. Moreover, repeatedopening of the food chamber door will not materially change theefliciency of the refrigerator, for any warm air entering through theopen door, immediately ascends and hastens the. circulation. Fig. 1 is avertical sectional view cut in aplane at right angles to therefrigerator front.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on line .2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation with the ice chamber and food chamber doorsremoved, parts of this view being shown in vertical section on the planeof line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the corrugated ice supporting rack.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a shield hereinafter described, which isinstrumental in preventing any descent of drip water from the meltingice into the food chamber.

While the form of construction selected for illustration will be ratherspecifically described, 5 it is to be understood that within the scope.of the invention as claimed, numerous variations may be made.

An appropriate insulating, casing C is shown, provided with a lower doorD into a foodchamher F and with an upper door D into an ice chamber I.The two chambers are separated by a partition 10 which, whilesubstantially horizontal, declines slightly toward the rear, at which adrain 11 is located. The partition 10 is pro- 5 vided with a verticallydirected front portion 12 which is rearwardly spaced from the front wallof the casing C, said upwardly directed portion being provided with amultiplicity of openings 13 to conduct ascending relatively warm airinto the lower portion of the ice chamber" I. The back edge and thefront-to-rear edges of the partition 10 are fluid-tightly secured-to therefrigerator lining 14, and the front edge of said partition (at theupper end of the portion 12) L may well be provided with a flange 15secured upon a cleat 16 secured to the front wall of the casing, betweenthe upper and lower doors. A downwardly and rearwardly curved cowl 17extends over the openings 13, to prevent any descending drip water frompassing through these openings into the fluid chamber F.

The rear portion of the partition 10 is formed with a relatively largeopening 18 to conduct descending relatively cold air. This opening 18 issurrounded by an upstanding flange 19 which prevents any of the dripwater on the upper side of the partition 10 from flowing into saidopening, and to prevent any of such water from drop-' .ping directlythrough the opening, a suitable shield 20 is provided above the same. Inthe present showing, this shield is provided with forwardly projectingsupporting arms 21 which rest upon the front part of the cowl 17, whichpart is supported by the'ledge 16 and flange 15, in the present showing.I have shown suspending hooks provide the plate with an upwardly openset of 'all of the channels 28 are open to allow escape of the ascendingair therefrom and in the present showing, the upper front portions ofthe arched corrugations of the plate 24, are cutaway as at 29, allowingfree discharge of air from said channels 28.'

. The air ascending in front of the ice cake B flows rearwardly andlaterally over the same and then descends at opposite sides of the ice.Any

of the upwardly openchannels 2'7 which are not completely covered by theice block B will receive this downwardly flowing cold air and willdirect it rearwardly. Then too, some of this air can descend in spaces30 which are preferably left between the plate 24 and the sides of thecasing

